The Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Tuesday that they have reached a deal with Gray Television, the owner of Cleveland’s WOIO and WUAB, to broadcast five regular season games in March and April. All five games will air on WUAB Channel 43 in Northeast Ohio and other select markets across Ohio. This move expands the team’s coverage to consumers who do not currently have access to Bally Sports Ohio, the current local rights holder for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Guardians.
The five games on WUAB will be:
March 5 vs Boston Celtics
March 8 vs Minnesota Timberwolves
March 29 vs Philadelphia 76ers
April 6 at Los Angeles Lakers
April 7 at LA Clippers
The five games on WUAB 43 will not be available to view on Bally Sports Ohio.
“We are constantly evaluating every available opportunity to create the greatest experience for all fans of Cavaliers basketball. Given the current, dynamic media landscape, we have prioritized how we can expand our audience in every way possible,” said Nic Barlage, Cleveland Cavaliers, Rock Entertainment Group, and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse CEO in a news release. “This partnership with Gray allows us to test out a new model of distribution that has the potential to reach more of our fans across our region.”
The current media landscape is complicated by the fact that a significant portion of the fan base does not have access to Bally Sports Ohio. For example, YouTubeTV subscribers have been without Bally Sports Ohio and Bally Sports Great Lakes for more than two years.
The Cavaliers are not the first team to go this route. Across the NBA the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz have taken at least a portion of their games off cable and back onto an over-the-air broadcast.
All five games that will be broadcast on WUAB 43 are against marquee opponents. As of the announcement, the Celtics and Timberwolves hold the two best records in the NBA, while the 76ers, Lakers and Clippers feature some of the biggest names in sports, including LeBron James on Los Angeles.
For these games on WUAB Cavaliers fans can expect the broadcasting team to remain the same as John Michael will handle play-by-play duties with Austin Carr and Brad Daughtery serving as analysts and Serena Winters as the sideline reporter.
For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.
